Shadows
by Jade II
Summary: Tony and Michelle return from their honeymoon and are thrown right into a pretty perilous situation. COMPLETE.
1. Chapter One

They began kissing ferociously the moment they had closed the door behind them. 

"Mmm," said Tony, hands already wandering to the buttons of her shirt as she slid her hands underneath his, "I'd forgotten how good you look in a business suit..." 

"Well, if you prefer it to all that lacy honeymoon lingerie..." Michelle teased in-between kisses, pulling him gently towards the stairs. 

"Can't I have both?" He slipped the shirt over her shoulders and began planting kisses along her neck. 

"We'll see." She walked backwards along the hallway, smiling as Tony nibbled her earlobe. 

And then not smiling so much when the small table between them and the staircase was accidentally knocked over, resulting in a loud crash and a wet mess of broken glass on the newly polished tiles of their newly purchased house. 

"Dammit," Michelle said, pulling away from him momentarily and surveying the damage. "I really liked that vase." 

"It was from Ikea, we can get another one..." Tony stepped over the glass and held out his hand for her. "And we can clean it up later, alright?" 

Michelle only hesitated for a second before taking the proffered hand and following him hastily up the stairs to the bedroom, where they both kicked off their shoes and landed grinning on the bed. 

Michelle climbed onto his lap, wrapping her legs around his waist, and they began to kiss less hurriedly, their hands more patient as items of clothing were slowly discarded. 

Now clad only in their underwear, the two of them moved further onto the bed, and Michelle pushed Tony into the pillows and grinned mischievously as she bent down to kiss him again. 

His hand came up to nestle in her hair, and she leaned in further, feeling the smile on his lips as the fingers of his other hand traced their way teasingly along her spine. 

And then came the faint sound of another crash from downstairs, followed by what could well have been somebody crying out. 

Michelle pulled back and looked into Tony's eyes. "Did you hear that?" she asked quietly. 

There was a moment when she was sure he was going to say no and she almost sighed in relief, but then she saw him nod ever so slightly. "Yeah," he said, shifting beneath her, and she reluctantly rolled off of him and went to grab her robe. 

As she put it on, Tony pulled two pistols from their drawer in the dresser. He put a clip in one and handed it to her before loading his own, and they took up position by the door, letting their training take over as they silently made their way back down the stairs and into the barely lit hallway. 

Michelle struggled to see in the near darkness. There were unfamiliar shadows cast everywhere -- she still wasn't completely used to the layout of the place as it was, her and Tony having only moved in a couple of weeks before their wedding, and now seeing everything like this was quite disconcerting. 

Tony caught her eye and motioned towards the doorway to the living room. On the floor in front of it there was the shadow of what looked like it could be somebody holding a gun close to their side. 

Then again, it could just as easily be something perfectly harmless -- a jacket draped over a chair or something. 

Gesturing for Michelle to stay where she was, Tony crept down the rest of the stairs and edged around to the other side of the door. The two of them locked eyes for a second, then Tony swung around, holding his gun out in front of him. 

"Drop your weapon!" Tony demanded, and a small, balding man stepped out of the room, raising his hands as he let his gun drop to the ground. 

"Get on the floor," said Tony, and the man began to crouch down as if to oblige -- only to produce a knife from his sleeve and lunge at Tony. 

Michelle shot him. 

Tony caught the falling man, taking a moment to react as he got over his surprise. He lay his would-be attacker on the floor and looked up at Michelle as she came down to stand beside him. 

She put a hand on his shoulder and shook her head, not yet quite able to process all that had just happened. She looked into his eyes. 

"I guess we'd better call 911." 

-- -- 

A short while later Tony and Michelle stood on the sidewalk outside their house, still wearing only underwear and bathrobes, watching the intruder be wheeled over to an ambulance on a stretcher. 

Michelle stepped closer to Tony and he put an arm around her, letting her rest her head in the crook of his neck. 

"Way to make an impression on the neighbors..." Michelle remarked, looking at the lights and open curtains in many of the houses opposite, the occupants of which had been woken by the sirens. 

"Well, at least they'll know who we are now." 

"Yeah... and now they'll forever greet me with 'hey, aren't you that chick who shot that burglar?'" 

Tony nodded. "That bothering you?" he asked sympathetically. 

Michelle sighed. "Yeah," she admitted. "I mean, I know he was about to mutilate you with a big knife, but still... it gets to me." 

"Well, I'm glad you didn't let him mutilate me." Tony squeezed her comfortingly. "And you never know, he might pull through." 

"I guess." She closed her eyes and nestled further against him. 

"Mr. and Mrs. Almeida?" 

Michelle looked up to see a police badge being held up for their inspection. 

"Lieutenant Martin," said the owner of the badge, putting it back in her pocket. "I'm gonna need to ask you some questions." 

The questions in question turned out to be very much like the kind one was asked when being debriefed by CTU, so Tony and Michelle were able to answer them quite easily. The lieutenant seemed happy with their answers and was about to turn away when another officer came up to her holding a couple of clear plastic evidence bags. She scrutinized them for a moment before looking back at Tony and Michelle. 

"Do you have any enemies?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. 

Tony let out a small chuckle. "We work for CTU, Lieutenant; we have too many to count." 

"Why?" asked Michelle. "What've you found?" 

The lieutenant handed her the bags, and Michelle couldn't help but gape when she saw their contents. "It appears that your 'burglar' wasn't looking to burgle you at all. These were in his jacket." 

In the bags were floor plans of their house, photographs of them with their names written on the back in frighteningly neat handwriting, and descriptions of their daily activities going right down to how long it took Tony to shave in the mornings. 

Michelle glanced at him and saw him furrow his brow. 

He took one of the bags from her and stared at it. 

"He was a hitman." 

-- -- 

Their house seemed eerily dark and silent when they were finally allowed back in, even when Tony flicked the light switch on and the hallway was flooded with light. Michelle walked over to where the table they had knocked over earlier was still lying on the ground and looked at the sparkling shards of colored glass that had been her second favorite vase a few hours ago. 

Tony came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "You wanna try and get some sleep?" he asked softly. 

She sighed and shook her head. "I dunno, Tony... I'm not sure I'll be able to sleep knowing that somebody just tried to have us killed." 

"You afraid they might send someone else and try again?" 

He took her ensuing silence for the 'yes, but I don't really want to admit it' that it was and asked, "You wanna go to a hotel?" 

She looked up at him. "Can we?" 

"Sure. We'll put some actual clothes on, pack a bag and go, alright?" 

She turned around and gratefully rested her forehead on his shoulder as he held her. 


	2. Chapter Two

"Sweetheart?" 

Michelle awoke to find Tony kissing her forehead. She blinked slowly. "Hmm?" she said, looking up at him as he pulled back slightly. 

He smiled when he saw that she was awake. "Hey. Look, uh, it's time for work. You feel up to going in?" 

She burrowed deeper into the covers again and squeezed her eyes shut. "I guess." 

"Sure?" 

"Yeah," she said, nodding into the pillow. "'S gotta be better than sitting around all day trying not to think about what happened." 

"Alright." He reached out and tucked some of her hair behind her ear. "You're gonna have to get out of bed, then..." 

"Mmm." 

She heard him chuckle. "I'll get them to send some breakfast up." 

The sheets rustled as he leaned over to pick up the phone on the nightstand the other side of the bed. Michelle stretched, sighed, slowly climbed out of the bed and went in search of the shower. 

Tony appeared in the doorway just as she was testing the water in the large shower cubicle. "Room for me?" he asked, raising his eyebrows at her hopefully through the glass. 

"Sure." She adjusted the water temperature as he undressed and made room for him when he slid the door open and stepped in next to her. "Soap?" 

"Gimme." He took the small bar of soap from her and held it under the shower head to get it wet. "Turn around," he said, gently pulling at her shoulder so that she had her back to him. 

Michelle sighed and began to relax as Tony rubbed the soap into the back of her neck and down across her shoulder blades, even as she herself washed her arms and legs. They then swapped positions and she did the same for him, taking care to knead the soap in thoroughly just in case there were any remnants of blood left on him from last night, though she didn't tell him that. 

She finished scrubbing his lower back and he turned to face her. 

"You gonna shampoo your hair?" 

She shook her head. "Not today." 

He nodded and looked at her, sensing that there was something she wanted to say. 

"Tony... whoever it is who wanted us killed... do you think they will try again?" 

He exhaled quietly and stepped forward to take her in his arms. "I dunno, sweetheart. We can't rule it out. But whatever happens, I'm not gonna let anyone hurt you, alright?" 

She sighed, touched by his words, but still... "What about you?" she asked. 

"I'll be fine." 

"Promise?" 

"Promise. As long as I have you watching my back, I'm not too worried about me." 

"Alright." Michelle managed a smile, her worries suppressed for now. She nodded. "Let's go to work." 

-- -- 

It was one of the quieter days at CTU. 

Michelle wasn't sure if this was a good thing or not. On the one hand, it meant that she didn't have to deal with a national crisis whilst still trying to mentally process the events of the last twelve hours. 

On the other, it meant that work wasn't quite the distraction she had hoped for. 

She sat at her station, staring at the computer screen and rubbing her temples, mentally bemoaning her lack of sleep and starting to regret the decision to come in today. Reports like the one she was supposed to be reading now were a chore to get through at the best of times, and now she found herself becoming distracted from it by the tiniest change in the room around her; every time a phone rang or somebody walked past her desk her fragile concentration would break and it would take her several minutes to regain it. 

And then of course all hopes of any of her thoughts being about working for at least the next ten minutes were shot all to hell when Tony came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. 

"Hey," he said softly, and when he gently rubbed the muscles in her neck she realized just how tense she still was. 

"Tony, not here..." she said with a small smile, though she hoped he would ignore her protests. 

In response he massaged her neck more thoroughly, and she closed her eyes for a second in relief. "Y'know what," he said, "Considering what happened last night I don't think anyone will mind..." 

"Does everybody know?" she asked, reaching up to clasp one of his hands in hers. 

"Not everybody, but I actually have a few people working on it seeing as we're not exactly swamped in work today." 

"Are you sure you should be doing that?" She allowed herself a small grin. "Isn't that infringing on LAPD's territory?" 

"Maybe, but it's nothing major. I'm just having a coupla lists compiled of people we've worked against who might be holding a grudge." 

"Didn't you say yesterday that we had too many enemies to count?" 

"Yeah, there is that. This might not be easy to figure out. But I called the lieutenant we spoke with yesterday and she says the guy who attacked us will probably live, so they're gonna be questioning him as soon as they can." 

"Well, that's good." 

"Yeah. Don't worry, we're gonna find out who's behind this." 

Michelle smiled and squeezed his hand a little tighter. "I know." 

-- 

"You weren't kidding when you said these were long." 

Tony and Michelle were sat on the bed in their hotel room, going through the lists of potential suspects Tony had had worked up earlier, trying to narrow them down before they tried to get some sleep. 

"Come on, you were done with yours ages ago..." Tony teased. 

"Only because I haven't pissed off as many people as you have!" she retorted. 

"Well, be that as it may, I think I'm about..." -- he wrote a final comment on the sheet of paper he was holding -- "Done." Putting the piece of paper on top of a pile of similar ones, he scooted over to look over Michelle's shoulder. "How's it going?" 

"Not bad." She scrawled a comment next to one of the names on the list of their common enemies. "I just get to write 'jail' next to most of them. Y'know, we're pretty good at our jobs!" 

"Toby Mulligan," Tony said, reading the next name on the list. 

"Jail," Michelle said, writing it down. 

"Gordon Munch." 

"Jail. Death row." 

Tony paused. "Nina Myers." 

"_Africa_," Michelle said emphatically. She spelled it out in capital letters. 

Tony was quiet for a moment. She could feel him looking at her, but she wasn't quite sure if she dared to look back. 

He snapped himself out of it and read on. "Sandro Naccarato," he said, and Michelle moved her hand down past Nina's name. 

It took them almost half an hour to reach the end of the list. 

"Marie Warner." 

"Jail." 

"Dawai Yan." 

"Missing, presumed dead." 

"Vladimir Zuskin." 

"Jail, but there's a pretty big network of people who could still be working for him." 

"Alright, put a cross next to him as well..." 

Michelle did as he said, indicating that Zuskin was a higher-probability candidate. She looked up at Tony. "So are we done for the day?" 

He took the paper and pen from her, kissed her briefly on the neck and began clearing things off the bed. "Yeah. Tomorrow we'll go through them again and try and come up with a shortlist, okay?" 

"Okay." Michelle climbed under the covers, feeling fatigue already trying to take her over. Then when Tony turned out the light and got in beside her, enveloping her in the calming heat of his arms, she found herself half asleep even as she moved closer and murmured a goodnight. 

"'Night sweetheart. Sweet dreams," came his reply, and she let the warm darkness claim her. 


	3. Chater Three

"Alright..." Tony scribbled down the last name on their shortlist of possible suspects and slid it across the small table for Michelle to look over. "That seem good to you?" he asked, checking his watch. 

Michelle skimmed over it and nodded. "Yeah." 

"Okay. We should go then, or we'll be late." 

She looked at her own watch. "God, you're right..." She stood up and looked around the room. "Have you seen my shoes?" 

"Yeah, I kicked them under the bed so I wouldn't step on them and break those pencil-thin heels." Tony started gathering the papers off the table and filing them into his briefcase. 

""Come on, you know you love 'em..." Michelle grinned and bent down to retrieve them. "Anyway, the heels are at least four times as thick as a pencil." She sat on the bed and began to put the shoes on. 

Tony clicked the briefcase shut and came to sit next to her as she picked up the second shoe. He took it from her and held the heel up to scrutinize it. "Four pencil thicknesses, huh? Must be pretty thin pencils." 

She took the shoe back with mock indignation. "Well, it's definitely more than one," she said, wrinkling her nose at him playfully, causing Tony to first chuckle affectionately and then pull her closer for a slow, tender kiss. 

She smiled at him when they broke apart. She was feeling much more confident today and she could tell that he knew and was pleased. 

Tony returned the smile and Michelle squeezed the hand she had unconsciously reached out for during their kiss. Tony traced along the back of her hand with his thumb, but then pulled away and stood up with a small sigh. "We really need to go." 

Michelle nodded and quickly donned the second shoe and grabbed her jacket. While Tony checked that he had everything she looked through her purse and made sure that her gun was there and that it was fully loaded. 

The she took Tony's arm and they left the hotel room. 

-- 

"Can we stop by the house later and pick up some more clothes?" Michelle asked, trying to get a particularly large lettuce leaf to stay on her fork long enough to make its way to her mouth. 

"Sure." Tony sipped at his coffee. 

They were eating lunch in the CTU cafeteria; something which seemed to happen ninety-nine times out of a hundred when they were working because even the kinds of issues they dealt with on a daily basis somehow weren't things that anybody felt should be left waiting for too long. It was always loud and full of people and the food wasn't exactly haute cuisine, but it was the fastest way to eat and get back to work, and that usually seemed to be the overriding factor in any decisions they made involving lunch. 

"You sure you don't mind staying at the hotel a little longer?" 

"No, honey, we can stay as long as you want," Tony reassured her. Then he shrugged. "Well, or as long as our credit balance can take it," he said with a small grin, proceeding to take a large bite out of his sandwich. 

About two seconds later his cellphone rang. 

He rolled his eyes and chewed faster while he reached into his pocket. Having retrieved the phone, he looked at the number and then held the phone out to Michelle with a pleading look in his eyes, his jaws still working furiously. 

Laughing a little at her husband's dilemma, Michelle took the phone from him. "Tony Almeida's phone," she answered. 

"This is Lieutenant Martin, I'm calling about the incident at Mr. Almeida's house the night before last. May I speak with him?" 

"Uh, Mr. Almeida's a little... indisposed right now," -- this earned her a playful poke in the leg from Tony's toe -- "But this is Michelle Dessler, his wife." 

"Ms. Dessler, your attacker has regained consciousness but I'm afraid he's not being very cooperative. We have however now positively identified him as a Mr. Robert Murdock. We've sent Mr. Almeida the information, as he requested." 

"That sounds great, thank you." 

"We'll call if we get anything more useful." 

"Alright. Thanks again." 

"Have a nice day, Ms. Dessler." The police lieutenant hung up. 

Michelle handed the phone back to Tony, who had by now swallowed his bite of sandwich and obviously decided not to take another one quite yet. "They've IDed the guy I shot," she told him. "All the info's been sent to you." 

"That's good." Tony nodded. "Progress." 

"Yeah." Michelle grinned and speared the last few pieces of lettuce onto her fork. "Now eat! Come on, big bites, hurry up..." 

This earned her another poke in the leg from Tony, which quickly degenerated into playing footsie and her trying hard not to giggle. 

-- 

Michelle's phone rang only a few minutes after she'd gotten back to her station. 

"Dessler," she answered. 

"Hey, it's me," said Tony. "You wanna come up to the office and see what Jack's found on this Murdock guy?" 

"Sure. I'll be right there." 

Michelle locked her station and hurried up the stairs to Tony's office, where she found him and Jack huddled over the computer. "What've we got?" she asked, closing the door and walking over to stand beside them. 

"Robert Murdock," Jack said. "Arrested several times in connection with drug dealing, twice with murder but never convicted. Was often seen with one Vladimir Zuskin." 

Michelle looked at the picture of a man who was unmistakably the one who had broken into their house talking with Zuskin, who had been arrested about a year ago for selling arms to terrorists. 

"You want me to head down to the prison and talk to him?" Jack asked Tony. 

Tony nodded. "Yeah, thanks." 

"I'm going with you," Michelle said. 

Tony looked at her. "I'm not sure that's--" 

"Tony, I need to feel like I'm doing something to solve this. We're not busy, you can spare me for a while." 

He looked at Jack, who nodded. "Alright," Tony relented. "But no hacksaws or anything, okay Jack?" 

Michelle grinned as Jack nodded again. 

"Deal," he said. "Let's go." 


	4. Chapter Four

Michelle put a hand up to shield her eyes as she stared out the car window, watching the people walking along the sidewalk in the mid-afternoon sun. Jack was driving them through a residential area close to where she and Tony lived. They were still about twenty minutes away from the prison where, hopefully, answers were awaiting them. 

They stopped at a red light and Michelle heard Jack shift in his seat. Feeling his eyes on her, she turned to face him. 

"You okay?" he asked. 

"Yeah," Michelle half-lied, offering him a small smile. The truth was that she was worried their visit with Vladimir Zuskin would just turn out to be a dead end... after all, since when was anything this easy? Just because Murdock had been sighted with Zuskin - who, to be frank, didn't seem to her to be the type to seek revenge like this - well, it didn't mean that Murdock never worked for anyone else, did it? Despite the shortlist she and Tony had compiled, the truth was that _anybody_ on any one of their three long lists could conceivably want them dead... and then there were all the relatives and friends of all those enemies who might have taken it upon themselves to get vengeance for their loved ones like this... 

Michelle realized that Jack was still looking at her. 

"We are gonna solve this," he said, and somehow, despite the seemingly endless doubts and worried whirling around her head, the confidence in his voice reassured her. 

"Yeah," she said again, more resolutely. 

Jack nodded, and they continued their drive. 

-- -- 

"Mr. Bauer!" Vladimir Zuskin exclaimed, raising his hands from the table as if in welcome. "And Miss Dessler. What a pleasant surprise." 

Zuskin grinned; an expression Michelle had always found strangely unnerving on him. 

"What can you tell me about this man?" Jack put the photograph of Murdock on the table before he even took a seat. 

Straight to business. 

"What, no hello? No 'how are you, Vlad?' But I was so eager to catch up..." 

Michelle sat on the metal chair next to Jack, playing uneasily with her wedding band. 

"Why Miss Dessler, you got married! See, I'm so out of the loop..." 

Michelle quickly folded her hands in her lap. This was not a situation where she should be showing any kind of weakness. 

"The picture, _Vlad_," Jack reminded firmly. 

"And what will you do for me, Jack?" Zuskin asked, bringing his hands together. He was done playing. 

"Absolutely nothing." 

Zuskin laughed. "Well then," he shrugged, "I--" 

"But what I _can_ do," Jack interrupted, "Is make life a lot more uncomfortable for you than it is right now." 

The two men stared at each other across the table. Michelle would've sworn she could feel heat coming from the space between them. 

"The man in the photograph," Zuskin said finally, "Is called Robert Murdock." 

Jack leaned back in his chair, listening. 

"He has several skills for sale," Zuskin continued. "Including the... strategic elimination... of people who have become cumbersome to his employer." 

"Have you made use of him recently?" 

Zuskin laughed. "What the hell for? I'm in jail, in case you hadn't noticed, and will probably remain here for quite a while." 

"Exactly." 

"Sorry Jack, but that's not really my thing. I haven't had any contact with this guy since before you put me in here." 

Michele watched Jack scrutinize him; trying to figure out if he was lying or not. 

"However," said Zuskin, and Michelle noticed the tiniest twitch of Jack's eyebrows. "I did recommend him to someone, a couple of months back." 

"Who?" Michelle asked. 

Both men turned to look at her. 

"A man," Zuskin said, that unsettling grin spreading over his face once more, "called Tom Rees." 

-- -- 

"Tom Rees," Tony was saying, typing the name into his computer as he spoke, "Is a name I haven't heard in a long time." 

"Who is he?" Michelle asked, glancing down from the office to where Jack was having an apparently urgent conversation with Chloe. 

"Some guy I helped put in jail, years back..." He beckoned to her and she went to stand behind him. Looking over his shoulder, she saw a picture of a pretty nondescript looking man with brown hair and eyes. Still... 

"He looks kinda familiar," she said. 

"You probably saw him in the papers or something when he was arrested. It was a pretty high-profile case. I just don't understand why... Oh." 

"What?" 

Tony pointed to the screen. "He was released from jail last month." 

Michelle nodded. "And now he's trying to kill us." 

"Probably just me, honey." 

"That doesn't make me feel any better." 

"Hey..." Tony stood up and turned around to face her. "We're gonna be okay. He _failed_ to kill us, remember?" 

She sighed. "I know," she said, giving him a weak smile. 

"C'mere..." Tony pulled her into his arms, letting her rest her head on his shoulder. "We're gonna finish up here, go home and get those clean clothes you wanted, and go back to the hotel and get a good night's sleep. And then tomorrow we'll find an address for Rees and have him picked up, alright?" 

Michelle nodded. "Yeah." She kissed him quickly on the lips. "I love you." 

"I _adore _you. Now go pretend to do those reports for the next coupla hours, and then I'll take you home." 

She kissed him again; smiling now. "Deal," she said, and left. 


	5. Chapter Five

Their house seemed strangely empty when they at last stepped through the front door, despite the broken glass still lying by the stairs and the still only half unpacked boxes stacked up just inside the kitchen. And though there had never been any kind of noise to greet them when they first came home, the silence tonight was almost eerie. 

Tony stepped forward and threw his keys on the table by the door. "You wanna head on upstairs while I clean that up?" he asked, nodding in the direction of the broken vase on the floor. 

Michelle nodded silently and made her way past him and up the stairs, which creaked ever so slightly. She didn't remember ever noticing that before. 

After fumbling in the dark for a moment for the light switch, Michelle entered the bedroom. 

The sheets on the bed were still in disarray from just before the rude interruption which had started this whole mess; some of her clothes were even still lying on the floor. Picking up the pants of the suit she had been wearing that night, Michelle sat on the bed with a sigh and began to fold them. She wondered whether to pack this suit; it was one of her favorites, plain black with a nice cut... but it was also dirty, and she really didn't feel like doing laundry right now. Reluctantly, she put the folded pants at the end of the bed and stood up. Pulling a small suitcase from under the bed, she began to look through her closet. 

She had picked out a bunch of clean underwear, two clean suits and a couple of jeans/T-shirt combos when she heard Tony come in behind her. 

"Hey, can we take this with us?" he asked. 

Michelle turned around to see him looking at her with large, innocently hopeful eyes and holding up a midnight blue negligee. 

"Where did you find that!" she asked incredulously. She had meant to take it on their honeymoon but had been unable to find it despite searching for a good twenty minutes. 

"Under the couch." Tony grinned and sat down on the bed. "I wonder what it was doing there..." 

"I have a pretty good idea." Michelle took it from his outstretched hand and dropped it in the suitcase. "Any other requests?" she asked, smiling and shaking her head. 

"Hmm." Tony stood up and came over to stand beside her. "Let me examine the underwear drawer..." He reached inside and pulled out a lacy red bra. "Yeah, we'll have this..." He threw it in the suitcase. "And this... and definitely this..." 

"Aren't you gonna pack any of _your_ clothes?" Michelle said wryly, suppressing a giggle. 

"These _are_ mine," he said, holding up a pair of panties and grinning. 

Michelle snatched them out of his hands and pulled him towards her for a kiss. "As long as you don't try to wear them," she said, and snapped the suitcase shut with a smile. 

-- -- 

Michelle dropped her suitcase on the back seat next to the bag of clothes Tony had hastily thrown together and slammed the car door shut. Leaning against it, she watched Tony lock up the house, barely able to see him in the darkness. Not even the porch light was on. 

She had been half tempted to just say "screw this" and crawl under the nice, familiar covers of their bed; she was sure she would have fallen asleep instantly. But the niggling traces of fear in her stomach were still making her feel more than a little uneasy, so she hadn't said anything to Tony. 

There was also that fact that Tom Rees looked so familiar, and she had no idea why. She supposed Tony's explanation of her having read about his arrest was a possibility, but she didn't remember ever having heard or seen his name before. The name _Tom Rees _somehow seemed too... _average_ for the feeling she had gotten when she had seen his picture. She couldn't explain it. 

It was pretty unsettling, really. 

Tony had somehow appeared by her side without her noticing. 

"You okay?" he asked, furrowing his brow. She imagined that she must be doing the same, which had probably prompted the question. 

"Yeah." She smiled. "Shall we go?" 

Tony nodded, and contemplated her a moment longer before opening the door for her. Climbing into the car, Michelle did her best to appear as carefree as possible. She didn't want to bother Tony with what was probably just her mind playing tricks on her. 

Tony started the car and drove it smoothly out of the driveway and into the quiet street. The few cars on the road and the occasional people walking their dogs were a far cry from the crowds of the other night who had appeared when the ambulance arrived. Hopefully this kind of calm would be the norm when they had sorted out the mess they had suddenly found themselves in. As far as Michelle was concerned, she got enough drama at work. Home was supposed to be her escape from that. 

Her thoughts were interrupted by the loud crash of breaking glass. She looked up at the windshield, her beleaguered mind taking a moment to understand the meaning of the hole which had suddenly appeared in the window. "Are we being _shot_ at?" she said disbelievingly. 

Tony didn't respond. Instead, he reached out and pulled her down so that her head was in his lap. "Hold on..." he said grimly, and Michelle saw him slam his foot down, causing the car to accelerate before Tony made a sharp left turn which caused Michelle's heart to race more than the actual bullets had. 

The car swerved again and Michelle gripped at Tony's legs, trying to suppress the instinct to panic. 

This situation was Not Good. 

Another bullet shattered more of the windshield and she felt Tony duck, then struggle to regain control of the car. 

"Michelle..." Their eyes locked briefly. "Take my gun, see if you can't take out their tires." 

"Okay." Michelle moved so she could get the gun out of his holster, then cautiously pulled herself up and took aim out of the now nonexistent back window. 

The car behind them swerved at her first couple of shots, but she could tell she hadn't hit anything vital. Trying not to think about the fact that she had never fired a gun at or out of a moving vehicle before, let alone both at once, Michelle narrowed her eyes and readjusted her position before trying again. 

This time she was fairly certain the bullet had grazed one of the front tires. 

She suddenly felt a burning sensation in her shoulder and cried out involuntarily. Crouching back down behind the seat, she quickly examined the damage. 

"Michelle?" Tony asked, the tension evident in his voice despite keeping his eyes completely focussed on the road. 

"I'm fine," she said quickly, removing her fingers from the hole in the fabric of her jacket and turning around to start shooting again. "It's just a graze!" she cried, as her first shot again completely failed to hit anything. 

Her second shot didn't hit where she had intended either, but that was okay because it killed the driver instead. 

Feeling a sudden rush of adrenaline at this, Michelle finally managed to put bullets in not one but _both_ front tires. 

"We're okay," she gasped, falling back into her seat. She wasn't quite sure when she had started breathing so fast, or when her heart had started trying to escape from her chest, but she had done it. 

"Woah," Tony said, staring at the rearview mirror. 

Michelle grinned. 

-- -- 

Tony insisted that Michelle should see a doctor about her shoulder, so they drove to the nearest hospital. While she waited for treatment, Tony went outside to call the police and tell them what had happened. 

For some reason, he took a lot longer than she had expected. The nurse had already come and gone, and Michelle was actually feeling pretty worried by the time he returned. 

"Where _were_ you?" she exclaimed when he finally reappeared. 

"I found something out," he said, stepping closer to the bed she was sitting on and lowering his voice. "Robert Murdock is _in this hospital_." 

Michelle blinked. "What?" was all she could think of to say. 

"I saw them wheeling him out of X-Ray, so I followed to see where they were taking him. There's only one guard outside his door; if I show him my ID he'll probably let me in." 

"I'm coming too," Michelle said immediately, jumping off the bed. 

"Michelle, you're standing there in your underwear." 

She grabbed her jacket from the bag it had been stored in and quickly did up the buttons to cover the fact that she was only wearing her bra underneath, and arched her eyebrows. 

Tony couldn't help but laugh at this. "Alright, let's go." 

He led her down the corridor to the elevator. Moments later, they were stepping out of it again, striding purposefully toward a very bored looking police officer at the end of the hallway. 

Tony and Michelle held up their badges simultaneously. "We need to see the prisoner," he said in his no-nonsense voice. 

The officer looked like he might be about to argue, but the expressions on their faces obviously changed his mind. "Sure," he said instead, gesturing at the door next to himself. 

They expressed their thanks and went in. 

Murdock was surrounded by countless machines controlling or monitoring his well-being. He was horribly pale. And yet, when he saw them, he began to laugh. 

"Robert Murdock?" Tony asked. 

"That's me!" Murdock grinned. 

"We were wondering if you could tell us why you tried to kill us," Michelle said pointedly. 

At this Murdock laughed again. "You have no idea what's going on, do you?" A high-pitched giggle emerged from his lips, and he continued in a whisper, so that Tony and Michelle had to step closer to hear; "My job wasn't to kill you." He glanced at the hole in the shoulder of Michelle's jacket. "Those bullets you've been dodging aren't meant to _kill _you. This is just the warm-up. Something to get your blood pumping before he _really _comes after you." 

"Before _who_ comes after us?" Michelle demanded. 

But Murdock simply smiled.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I must at this point pimp a new LJ community: 24femmeslash 

Thanks for all the reviews as well. I love you guys :) 


	6. Chapter Six

_The sound of crackling flames._

_The woman on the other side of the room, stood behind the enormous bed with crossed arms, is looking out the window._

_"They're watching us," she says. She turns, frowns. "Kiss me."_

_The heat from the ever-expanding fire grows stronger._

_"Wha..."?_

_"Kiss me." The woman strides purposefully across the room. "Now!"_

_Lips meet lips._

_The flames roar._

Michelle awoke to the loud beeping of an alarm clock. 

She squinted, blinked fiercely, trying to purge the dream from her mind. 

Tony was stirring beside her. She reached out for him. 

"Hey," he murmured, smiling and pulling her closer. 

"Hey." She returned the smile and closed her eyes again, burying herself in the warm cream of the hotel pillows and the welcoming heat from Tony's body. 

"Listen, honey..." Tony shifted and brushed a strand of hair from her forehead. "I really don't think you should come in today." 

Michelle sighed inwardly. "Tony..." 

She knew he felt responsible for her injury, even though the two of them might well have been dead by now if he hadn't asked her to take his gun when they were being chased yesterday. 

Then again, maybe not, if what Murdock had said was anything to go by. 

Michelle pushed that thought away and opened her eyes to see Tony's concerned face looking back at her. 

They had made love last night, and he had accidentally jostled her wounded shoulder, causing her to cry out at the sudden pain. She had practically had to cajole him out of stopping. She knew she still hadn't convinced him that her injury wasn't his fault, nor that it wasn't that serious. 

"I'm _fine_," she said firmly. 

"Michelle, you were shot." 

"The bullet barely touched me. I'm not being stubborn, Tony. I'm okay. They would've tried to keep me in the hospital if I wasn't." 

Tony was about to respond, but was interrupted by the ringing of his cellphone. He rolled over to retrieve it from the nightstand and rearranged a couple of pillows so he could sit up more comfortably. "Almeida," he answered. 

Michelle propped herself up as well, waiting patiently as he spoke. 

"Okay, great. Thanks Jack." Tony hung up and looked at her. "They've found an address for Rees." 

"Right." Michelle nodded and disentangled her legs from the sheets. "Now I'm _definitely_ coming." 

Tony's resigned expression admitted his defeat. 

-- -- 

"Okay, we're going in," Jack's voice said from the speakerphone. 

He had already had his team assembled and ready to go by the time Tony and Michelle had arrived. He must have come into work early in order to have something new for them when they got there, and had hit the jackpot. The address he had found was a modest house in a non-descript suburb, which Rees apparently shared with a woman named Sarah Greenwood, whose criminal record contained nothing more serious than a speeding fine and a couple of parking tickets. 

"First floor is clear," said Chase. 

Michelle glanced at Tony. He was rubbing his chin, obviously as anxious as she was that Jack's team would find something of value. If they didn't, Michelle had thought a few minutes ago to her rising apprehension, they had nothing left to go on. The driver of the car she had shot yesterday had been unable to be identified, and Murdock was still refusing to cooperate. I was also entirely possible, she realized, that they had the wrong man; that Tom Rees was completely innocent. After all, what evidence did they have for his involvement other than the word of a convicted criminal and the fact that Tony had played a part in his arrest; something which had happened several _years_ ago. It was true that Rees had only recently been released from prison, but then why didn't he seem to be after any of the other people who had helped to put him there? 

"Second floor's cl--" said Chase, only to be interrupted by Jack: 

"Wait." 

Michelle heard some low murmurings and then silence. 

Then: "It's a bomb! Out! Everybody out!" 

She felt her hand fly instinctively to her mouth as she listened. 

Moments later, the sound of a loud explosion came from the speaker. 

"Jack!" Michelle saw that Tony was gripping the table exceptionally hard. "What's going on?" 

A couple of tension-filled seconds ticked by before they once again heard Jack's voice. "One of the rooms was boobytrapped. Nobody's injured. Whatever was in there is gone, though." 

Michelle breathed a sigh of relief. 

Ten seconds later Ryan Chappelle marched in. 

-- -- 

Michelle looked up at Tony's office for at least the twentieth time since Chappelle's arrival. The soundproofed walls meant that she couldn't hear what was going on, but the body language of both Tony and Chappelle told her that it was getting pretty heated. 

She only hoped it didn't get out of hand. She wasn't sure if she could deal with Tony being fired for insubordination on top of everything else. 

Her eyes widened when she saw Tony shake his head, grab his briefcase and Cubs mug and sling his jacket over an arm, and exit his office angrily. 

She gaped as she watched him come down the stairs, with eyes narrowed and a scowl on his face that she saw only on the rarest of occasions. 

She looked back up at the office. Chappelle was making himself comfortable in Tony's chair, reaching for the computer with an expression of extreme annoyance. 

Well. At least that probably meant Tony hadn't been fired. Michelle had a feeling that Chappelle would be looking a lot more smug, were that the case. 

Tony stopped in front of her station. "Get your stuff, we're leaving," he said shortly. 

"Why?" Michelle asked, not budging. 

Tony huffed and glanced over his shoulder at the office. "Chappelle's not happy with us using CTU staff and facilities for personal use. We're suspended from duty until this mess is resolved." 

"_What?_" 

How were they supposed to resolve it without the help of CTU? LAPD were doing all they could, but there was a lot of classified, possibly _crucial _information that they would have great trouble accessing. Besides, everybody who had been helping them had been doing so voluntarily, in their own time. 

Michelle shook her head. "He can't do this. I'm going to talk to him." She stood up. 

Tony grabbed her wrist before she could start walking. "Honey, it won't help." He sighed. "It might've been okay without the bomb just now, but the way Chappelle sees it is that we put agents' lives at risk for our own personal agenda. When you put it that way, it does look kinda bad." 

"But... but what--" Michelle suddenly found herself unable to form a coherent thought. "But how can we..." 

"Hey..." Tony pulled her closer, putting a hand on her cheek. "We're gonna figure this out." 

"How?" she asked, dismayed at how desperate she sounded. 

"That I don't know yet," Tony admitted. "But we'll find a way." 

Michelle only hoped he was right. 


	7. Chapter Seven

Tony didn't talk much during their drive back to the hotel. He was probably feeling as helpless as she was, Michelle thought, watching him drive with a stony expression on his face; though, knowing Tony, he was likely a lot more angry than her. 

Michelle looked away and resisted the urge to scratch her shoulder; the tape that was strapped to it was beginning to irritate her. 

It felt strange to be pulling into the hotel parking lot in the middle of the day. The thought of all those free afternoon hours still ahead of them made Michelle wonder again what exactly they could possibly do now. There was no way she was going to be able to relax, but she was at a loss as to what she could do to help their situation now that she no longer had any of CTU's facilities at her disposal. 

Tony locked the car and led the way through the heat and sunshine of the parking lot into the hotel, then upstairs to their room. Michelle followed in silence. 

Once back in their room, Michelle sat on the bed and watched as Tony took his jacket off, threw it down next to her and began pacing the room. She let him walk from one side to the other a couple of times before she said what they were both thinking: 

"What do we do now?" 

"I don't _know_," Tony said angrily, glaring at the wall and stomping towards it so fast Michelle was afraid he might walk right into it. 

She sighed, kicking off her shoes and lying back on the bed. She stared at a faded stain on the otherwise white ceiling and listened to the sound of Tony's pacing. "Come lie next to me," she said finally, after a long minute filled with nothing but angry footsteps. 

"What for?" Michelle could hear the longing to kick and pummel something in the tension of his voice. 

"Because otherwise you're going to explode." She held out a hand. "Come on." 

She heard the pacing stop, and the sound of Tony scratching his neck. A few moments later she felt his warm fingers clasp her outstretched hand, and the mattress creaked slightly as he lay down beside her. Some seconds passed as Tony exhaled slowly. He inched closer to her. "What are you looking at?" 

"That stain." She nodded her head at the ceiling. "Do you think it's tea or coffee?" 

"Neither." She felt his head shift as he scrutinized the mark in question. "I think it's hot chocolate." 

"Not a chocolate sauce incident gone awry, then?" Michelle grinned. 

"Like the kind of chocolate sauce incident we had last Tuesday?" 

"Something like that." 

Tony paused. "Nah," he decided. 

Michelle smiled and rolled onto her side to face him. "Okay," she said. "Now we've calmed down, we need to figure out what we're gonna do." 

Tony sighed, but nodded. "Alright," he said. "It probably won't help, but we could try looking Rees up on the internet." 

"Good idea. It might turn up something, you never now." 

"Uh-huh. Any ideas of your own?" 

"We could go back to that house Jack found, see if anything's salvageable." 

"And possibly get blown up." 

"Yeah, there is that." Michelle nodded. "So, internet first might be good." 

"Right." Tony slowly climbed off the bed and stood up before pulling Michelle to her feet. "Where's my laptop?" 

"Under the bed by your nightstand." 

While Tony released his grip on her to retrieve the computer she walked over to the small table to clear a space for it. 

She furrowed her brow as something caught her eye. Next to the small vase of plastic flowers there was a polaroid photograph. 

She reached out to pick it up and take a closer look. "Tony..." she said, with a growing sense of unease. 

The photograph showed a charred building with half its roof burned off and a good portion of its side missing. Michelle turned it over as Tony came up behind her. Scrawled on the back of the polaroid were two words: 

_Nice try_

"He knows we're here," said Tony. 

"More than that..." Michelle turned to face him, and saw the worry she felt burning in her chest reflected in his eyes. "He's been in here. Or at least someone working for him has." 

She watched the implications of this play across Tony's face. "We've gotta get out of here," he said. 

Michelle couldn't agree more. 

-- -- 

It took them less than thirty minutes to pack all their things, check out of the hotel and bundle everything into the trunk of their car, after which they made their way to the police station to speak with Lieutenant Martin. 

"I'm not gonna lie to you," the Lieutenant said, looking at them earnetstly across the table. "This is not good." She gestured with the polaroid she held in her latex glove, glancing at it yet again and shaking her head. "Frankly I'd feel better if the two of you moved into a safehouse." 

Tony shook his head. "I know from experience that safehouses aren't always as safe as they're supposed to be. As determined as these guys are, I don't think a safehouse would stop them." 

Michelle nodded in silent agreement, unconsciously squeezing Tony's hand where it lay on her knee underneath the table. They had talked about the possibility of a safehouse on the drive to the station, and had agreed that it wouldn't make either of them feel paticularly secure. Better to get out of town, somewhere out-of-the-way, and to move around every couple of days. 

Lieutenant Martin sighed. "Well, that's your call. We can dust this for prints..." She waved the photograph again. "But considering our luck so far, I wouldn't pin any hopes on it." 

"Alright." Tony nodded and got to his feet. 

"Thank you," said Michelle, following suit. 

"Don't thank me yet," said the Lieutenant, smiling grimly. "I'll call if we turn up anything. In the meantime, try not to get yourselves killed!" 

Despite herself, Michelle grinned. "We'll do our best." 

-- -- 

Eventually Tony and Michelle ended up in a motel in a small town a couple of hundred miles outside LA, having been driving well into the evening. Tony unlocked the door to their room, and for the second time that day Michelle kicked off her shoes and collapsed onto a strange bed. 

This time, however, Tony didn't hesitate to join her. 

After pulling off his own shoes, he propped himself up on an elbow next to where she was lying sprawled on her back with her eyes closed. He reached out and gently brushed the hair from her forehead, causing her to smile. 

"Listen, sweetheart..." He stroked her cheek. "I"m really sorry about all this." 

Michelle opened her eyes and looked at him. "Tony, it's not your fault." 

"I'm not saying it is, but... it's because of me that you're involved." 

"Don't be silly." Michelle lifted herself to a sitting position. "I'm _involved_ because I'm your wife... and there is nothing I would rather be." 

"Michelle..." Tony struggled to sit up. 

"Shh." She kissed him lightly on the lips and lay back down, letting her eyes fall shut again. 

A moment later she felt Tony press a kiss to her cheekbone. "Y'know," he said, "With everything that's been going on I don't think it's really sunk in for me yet that we're actually... married." 

"I know what you mean." Michelle smiled. "But we _are_ actually married." 

Tony kissed her again. "I think that needs celebrating." 

"Again?" She grinned. 

"Again." 

Michelle giggled. 

For the second time that day, she couldn't agree with Tony more. 


	8. Chapter Eight

_The flames were licking at her ankles._   
_Somebody was squeezing her hand._   
_From the distance, the sounds of screaming._

_All around, there was nothing but smoke and the inconstant flickering of the growing fire, making her throat constrict and her skin burn._

_The hand around hers gripped it more tightly, and there were fingernails cutting into her flesh._

_"Michelle! Come on!"_

_But she couldn't move, could only gasp fruitlessly for air in the darkness..._

_"Michelle!"_

She awoke with a start to find Tony leaning over her in a strange bed in a strange room, clasping her hand in his. 

"Tony..." she breathed in relief, the remnants of the dream already fading in his warm and familiar presence. 

"Hey." He offered a smile. "You were dreaming." 

"Yeah." Michelle sat up, rubbing her eye with the backs of her fingers. "What's the time?" she asked, though she could have easily looked at the clock herself. 

"Three forty-six." Tony struggled to sit up as well and reached out to tuck a curl behind her ear, still holding her hand firmly in one of his. "You want me to get you some water?" 

"Yeah." She nodded gratefully, still not quite trusting herself to do more than glance at him while she spoke. "Thanks." 

He kissed her hand before letting go and climbing out of bed to rummage in their bags. 

Michelle watched him in the sparse light from the lamp on his nightstand, and was suddenly overwhelmed with a wave of gratitude for his being there with her. Whenever anything was wrong, no matter what it was, Tony somehow always made her feel not quite so bad. 

"I don't think we have any glasses," he apologized, coming over to get back into bed with her. He held out a small bottle of mineral water. "It's reasonably cold, though." 

"Thank you," she said, taking the water and sipping it gratefully. Somehow the cool liquid helped still the afterimages of fire and smoke still racing through her mind. After a few more mouthfuls she handed the bottle back to Tony, who deposited it on his nightstand next to the lamp. 

"You okay?" he asked, looking back at her. 

"Yeah." She smiled and made herself comfortable under the covers again. 

"Alright." Tony turned out the light, then pulled her into his arms. 

Michelle closed her eyes and nestled her head between the pillow and his neck. "Tony?" she murmured. 

"Mm-hmm?" 

"I love you." 

"Love you too, baby." 

They fell back to sleep. 

-- -- 

Morning arrived with bright sunlight peeking through the curtains and birds chirping louder than Michelle had heard in a long time. 

She and Tony lay in bed for quite some time after they awoke, not wanting to face reality quite yet. But finally Michelle needed the bathroom too badly to wait any longer, and when she got back Tony was up and pulling clean clothes from his bag. 

"What are we gonna do today?" she asked, sitting on the edge of the bed while she worked up the willpower to get dressed herself. 

"I was thinking I'd find an internet café or something and e-mail Jack, let him know what's going on." 

Michelle nodded. "Good idea." 

Tony shrugged. "Well, it won't hurt. Probably." 

Michelle grimaced. "Honey, could we try to be... not negative? Because otherwise... I dunno, I just feel like this whole thing is gonna swallow me up." 

"Sweetheart, I'm sorry." Tony pulled a shirt out of his bag and came back to sit next to her, wrapping an arm around her and letting her rest her head on his shoulder. "How 'bout when we've sent that e-mail we go and do something fun, huh? Forget about everything for a while." 

Michelle smiled. "That sounds good." 

-- -- 

_JACK STOP STAYING OUTSIDE CITY AFTER HOTEL ROOM WAS INVADED STOP ANY HELP OR INFO OR CAPTURING SLASH KILLING OF PERPETRATORS MUCH APPRECIATED STOP THANKS TONY STOP_

Tony was chuckling out loud as he finished typing, and Michelle was holding a hand over her mouth in a useless attempt to keep herself from giggling. 

"Well?" he asked, glancing at her from his seat at the computer. "Whaddaya think?" 

"No, Tony," she replied, still grinning from ear to ear. "Just no." She shook her head and burst into another fit of giggles. 

"Why? What's wrong with it?" Tony asked in mock innocence, raising his eyebrows. 

"You're writing an e-mail, honey, not a telegram." 

"Ah. Right. I see." Tony pressed the backspace button and rephrased the last two sentences: 

_...ne info/hlp or capturin/killin of perps wd b v gd. Thx T._

"Not a text message either, Tony." 

"Aw, fine..." Tony pouted as he typed out the message a final time, in a way Michelle would approve of. "Good?" he asked, a little more seriously. 

"Good." 

"Okay." He hit the 'send' button, waited for confirmation that the message had gone through and logged off the computer. 

"Tony! We had five more minutes of internet paid for! I could've checked my other e-mail." 

"No you couldn't, honey. I _know_ how long it takes you to check your mail, and believe me, after five minutes you wouldn't even be halfway through and you'd probably shout at the computer when it timed out." 

Michelle gave an exaggerated gasp. "That is not true!" 

"Is too." 

"Not." 

"Too." 

Michelle shook her head, smiling. "Fine, maybe a little." 

"A little, huh? Riight... Ow!" he complained when she hit him lightly on the arm. 

"What?" she asked, her face the picture of innocence. 

Tony rolled his eyes and pulled her to her feet and into his arms. "Nothing. So, what do you wanna do now?" 

"Can we go shopping? 'Cause I saw this really cute little clothes store on the way here, and there was the most gorgeous scarf in the window..." 

"Sure." He took her hand and they began to walk towards the exit of what was probably the smallest internet café either of them had ever seen. "As long as we don't have to sell my grandma to pay for it. Maybe your mother, though..." 

"Tony!" Michelle said, her look of false indignation not lasting long before she said, "Don't be ridiculous. Who would buy _her_?" 

"Chappelle might. I think they'd go together great." 

She made to pinch him in the arm, but he grabbed her hand and twirled her around to kiss her before she got the chance. 


	9. Chapter Nine

Michelle awoke to something cold and hard being tapped repeatedly against her forehead. 

"Tony..." she whined, reaching up to swat whatever it was away -- only to have him grab her wrist before she could touch it. 

"'Fraid not, sweetums," said a low, unfamiliar voice from somewhere above her head. 

The confusion caused by this made Michelle open her eyes properly and squint upwards, and then gasp when she saw that a strange man with his two front teeth missing was holding a gun to her head. 

"'Mornin' sunshine," he said, and Michelle realized that in his other hand he held a second gun, pointed squarely at Tony's temple. She couldn't see Tony's face from this angle, but she knew he must be glaring like he was trying to will this guy to burst into flames. This thought kick-started her own resolve, and she narrowed her eyes. 

"What do you want?" she asked coldly. 

The toothy grin grew wider. "I got a message for ya." 

"From who?" 

"Oh, I think you know." The man sat back, and it was only now that Michelle realized he was straddling both her and Tony just below the waist, pinning them both to the bed. 

"Still be nice to hear you say it." 

"Nuh-uh-uh. Not part of my instructions." 

"What were your instructions?" asked Tony. 

"Find you. Make sure you're listenin'. Tell you my boss will have revenge for what happened to his brother. Tell you the worst day of your life is rapidly approachin', and there's nothin' you can do to stop it. Yep." He looked at Michelle, sliding the gun down across her jaw to her neck. "I think that was more or less it." He brought the gun down further, past her collarbone, over her breast... 

"You leave my wife alone, you son of a bitch," Tony snarled. 

Michelle's glare matched her husband's as they stared at the intruder, who shrugged and smiled at them. "Okay then." He pulled back and edged off of them, still keeping the guns trained at their heads, finally jumping backwards onto the floor. "Oh yeah, and I tied your feet to the bed," he said, holstered his guns, and ran. 

Tony and Michelle jerked into sitting positions instantaneously, only to find that their ankles were tied to the bedposts with thick string. Michelle sighed, staring at her foot, but Tony swore and began kicking wildly, trying to break the string. 

"Stop, Tony, don't do that! You'll hurt yourself!" 

"Fucking _bastard!_" Tony yelled, pulling furiously at his bonds. 

"Honey, please..." Michelle took his hand. "He's long gone. Calm down." 

"We can't let him get away!" he cried, but he did stop struggling and look at her, though she could hardly look back when she saw the pain in his face. 

"He's already gotten away," she said, keeping her voice as steady as she could. 

She could see Tony wanted to argue, but he knew she was right. He sighed. "Are you okay?" he asked, pulling with the hand she was practically clinging to now and bringing her closer. 

"I'm fine," she lied, even though she knew Tony wouldn't believe it for a second. 

"Uh-huh," he said, and she shook her head and burst into tears. 

-- -- 

It was cold outside. 

Michelle stood leaning against the car, hugging herself, watching Tony arguing with the proprietor of the motel over by its entrance. She sighed and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out... well, everything. 

She and Tony had decided to move, yet again, so had quickly repacked their stuff and woken up the proprietor, one Mr. Simmons, to explain what had happened and ask to use his computer to send an urgent e-mail. Michelle had written to Jack to ask for any information he could find on any brothers of Rees', while Tony had put all their stuff in the car, plus a few blankets from their room which he was hoping to buy from Simmons for a fair price. Which was what they were arguing about now. 

Michelle opened her eyes to see Tony reaching for his wallet, which hopefully meant that they had finally agreed on a price. Closing her eyes again, she tried once more to make sense of the 'message' they had received. 

_My boss will have revenge for what happened to his brother._

The trouble was that it _didn't_ make sense. Neither Michelle nor Tony knew anything about any brothers Rees might have, let alone what might have happened to make him want revenge on either of them. The only real explanation she could think of was that Rees had the wrong people, and that Tony's role in putting him in prison was merely a coincidence, but that seemed too far-fetched to be a real possibility. She supposed it was possible that any of the men she and Tony had helped bring down might in some way be construed as his 'brother'; maybe the term wasn't meant literally. But if _that_ was true, the possible identities of the brother were practically endless, and that definitely wasn't a nice thought. 

The sound of footsteps made Michelle look up, and she saw Tony coming towards her across the asphalt, removing his jacket as he walked. She smiled. 

"You ready?" he asked when he reached her, lifting the jacket and wrapping around her shoulders in one fluid motion. 

"Yeah," she said, pulling his arms and the jacket tighter around her, appreciating the warmth. "Let's go." 

-- -- 

"So where are we going?" Michelle asked, hoping against hope that Tony had somehow thought of some miracle solution to all their problems. 

"The loneliest patch of nowhere we can find," he replied. "I think the best we can do is sleep in the car tonight, then figure out what we're gonna do in the morning." The normal joviality in his voice was strained. 

Michelle nodded. "Okay." 

She sat there for a minute, staring out the window at the trees passing in the darkness, each lit up for a moment like a ghost by the headlights. "Tony?" 

"Yeah?" 

"We are gonna be okay." She said it as much to comfort herself as him. 

"Yeah." He flashed her a smile, and she tried to ignore the uncertainty she saw flickering in his eyes. "I know."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Yes, I shamelessly stole that line from _Firefly _and altered it to suit my own purposes. 

(Don't know which line I'm talking about? You need to watch more _Firefly_. Oh, and see _Serenity_ in theaters on September 30th.) 


	10. Chapter Ten

_Hands pulling at her clothes, tugging in every direction_

_Screams in her ear, so loud it hurts_

_Flames, roaring stretching burning reaching for her, closer taller stronger brighter..._

Smoke. 

Michelle coughed, found that her eyes were watering, and sat up, flailing around in mindless panic. 

"Tony!" she called, struggling to open the door of the car in which she found herself trapped, smoke pouring in from the open windows... 

"Morning!" his voice answered cheerfully, and she was confused for a moment before she stumbled out of the car and to the left, and found her husband holding a burger on a stick over a raging campfire. 

She stood there staring for a moment before she grasped that she wasn't actually about to burn to death, and she saw Tony's cheerful expression turn to one of concern. 

"Are you okay?" he asked, stepping towards her. 

"Yeah," she smiled, though somewhat feebly. "I guess I just wasn't expecting to wake up in a car full of smoke." 

"Sorry 'bout that." He put an arm around her, still holding the stick in the other. "I did make the fire a little larger than strictly necessary." 

Michelle rolled her eyes. "Men..." she said, smiling and shaking her head. "You'll be forgiven if you have food for me." 

"I do have food." Tony nodded and held up the stick with the burger on the end. "For breakfast today we'll be having vegetable burgers with no buns, no fries, no lettuce and no ketchup. But we do have croissants and mayonnaise, and Pepsi to drink." 

"Sounds delicious." 

"It'll definitely be an interesting experience. Here, take this and I'll get another one," Tony said, handing her the stick. 

Michelle went to hold the burger over the fire and watched in amusement as Tony removed a burger from a soggy box which had obviously defrosted overnight, and proceeded to very carefully push it onto the end of a stick. Then he sat down next to her and pulled her onto his lap. 

"You sleep okay?" he asked. 

"Not really... the back seat of the car isn't exactly the most comfortable of beds." 

"Yeah, I know what you mean." 

Silence descended as they both refrained from pointing out that they might be sleeping in the car for a while. 

Michelle closed her eyes and snuggled closer to Tony, who tightened his grip around her waist. 

"Your burger's burning," he remarked a moment later. 

"Dammit!" Michelle said, sitting up a little too fast and causing Tony to hiss quietly. "Sorry," she said, taking the stick away from the fire and blowing on the burger to make it stop smoking. 

"'S okay," said Tony, wincing as she settled into a more comfortable position. 

She kissed him on the cheek before turning to the difficult business of getting the burger off the stick without making it fall apart. 

And then she dropped both burger and stick when she felt more than heard a bullet whizz past her ear and shatter the glass in the closest window of the car. 

Tony was pinning her to the ground before she had time to say anything, his gun somehow already in his hand, cocked and aimed over his shoulder where the bullet had come from. 

"You okay?" he asked, glancing at her face for the briefest of instants. 

"Yes," she gasped, suddenly finding it difficult to breathe after the shock. 

Tony fired three rounds into the bushes, and Michelle closed her eyes and pressed herself into the dirt. 

"Where's your gun?" he asked, his voice strained. 

"Floor behind the passenger seat." 

He fired again. "Alright, on three we're gonna get up and get behind the car. Make sure you stay in front of me." 

"Tony, you'll be exp--" 

"Michelle, I'm armed, you're not. You're in front, no arguments." 

"Okay." 

"Alright." He paused, then: "One. Two. _Three_." 

The two of them got to their feet and, with Tony laying down cover fire, scrambled to the relative safety of the other side of the car. Michelle crouched behind the front wheel, Tony next to her behind the back one. 

"Take this. I'll get yours." Tony reached out to hand her his gun before opening the back passenger door. Michelle winced as more glass shattered above her head, holding his gun by her side and watching him feel around in the back of the car for hers. 

"Okay." Tony pulled his upper body back out of the car and slammed the door shut, shaking Michelle's gun out of its holster. "How many of them do you think there are?" 

"I don't know." She risked a quick glance around the side of the car, but saw nothing but trees until there were several sudden flashes of black and a new barrage of gunfire. She quickly pulled back. "At a guess, I'd say a lot. Or they're good enough to make a few seem like a lot, which is worse." 

Tony peeked around the side himself, then looked back at her. "I agree. I think we should run." 

Michelle nodded. 

They joined hands and fled into the woods. 

-- -- 

Skidding down a steep incline, trying not to trip on exposed roots and struggling to keep her panic level down as adrenaline began to surge through her body, Michelle marveled at the fact that Tony somehow managed to also look behind them, count their pursuers, and think about their options. 

"There's no way we can outrun them or win a firefight," he said, panting only slightly as they wove through a particularly dense patch of trees. "We need to hide." 

Michelle felt panic begin to rise in her chest again before she spotted a large tree a short distance away and inspiration thankfully struck. "Over there." She pointed. "We can climb up." 

Tony scrutinized the tree and nodded. "Let's go," he said, tugging harder at her hand as he ran faster. 

Michelle reached for the lowest branch as soon as they were close enough, jumping to wrap her arms around it before swinging her legs up. 

"Hurry, before they see us," Tony said, giving her a push to help right herself before climbing up after her as she silently tackled the next branch. 

There was a rustling in the distance and she reached down to help him up behind her. "One more and then we stay still and don't make a sound," she decided. Tony merely nodded as they continued their ascent. 

Once she was up Michelle stood as close to the trunk of the tree as possible and wrapped her arms around it. Moments later Tony climbed up beside her and inched along the branch before encircling her waist with one arm and pulling their bodies close together, keeping himself steady by resting his other hand, still holding his gun, somewhere above their heads. 

Then they waited. 

Acutely aware of the sound of her own breathing in the sudden silence, Michelle attempted to regulate it, to match the pace of the calm breaths she could feel Tony taking, inhaling when she felt his chest inflate against her back, exhaling when warm air from his open mouth touched the side of her face. Sharing his rhythm like this immediately made her feel calmer, steadier, more grounded as she stared down at the small patch of ground still visible beneath their feet and all the branches which separated them from it. 

A black-clad figure ran underneath them and she gasped slightly despite herself, closing her eyes until she felt Tony press a kiss to her temple. 

They stood there for what seemed like forever, until her arms felt like lead against the bark and she was convinced her feet were about to fall out from under her. Finally, Tony leaned forward and whispered, "Let's see if it's safe to climb down." 

Michelle nodded, and together they wearily and warily descended. 

They stood at the bottom with guns at the ready before it became clear that they weren't going to be shot at -- at least right away-- then decided to make their way back to the car. 

Peeking through the bushes at the side of the clearing where they had parked, they saw two men standing guard on either side of the vehicle. Tony motioned to Michelle to take out the two on the left while he took the ones to the right. On his signal, they both opened fire. 

The guards were caught unawares and went down without even managing to raise their weapons. 

Tony and Michelle ran for the car and sped away. 

-- -- 

"Oh, thank God," said Michelle. 

She was leaning over Tony's shoulder in an internet café, reading the subjects of his new e-mails. The top one was from Jack and titled _Re: Brother_. 

Tony clicked to open it, tapping his fingers lightly on the mouse buttons in impatience. Finally the new page loaded; the message from Jack was short, but there were several large attachments. 

_Here's all I could find, I hope it helps. Stay safe. Jack._

Tony clicked on the first attachment -- an image file. 

Michelle felt her mouth drop open when she saw the picture. "Oh my God..." 

The eyebrows, the mouth, the jawline... _This_ was why Rees had looked so familiar! The face on the screen was one Michelle recognized all to well... and that would explain why she'd been having the dreams so much lately... 

"What?" Tony asked, looking at her apprehensively. 

Michelle shook her head, still trying to organize her thoughts, unable to tear her eyes away from the photograph. "This whole thing... it was never about you at all." 

She looked at him, and said: 

"It's about me." 


	11. Chapter Eleven

"What do you mean, it's about you?" Tony asked, shaking his head in confusion. 

"He wants revenge for what happened to his brother," Michelle said unsteadily, nodding at the picture on the computer screen. "What happened to him was my fault." 

"What are you _talking _about?" Tony's bewilderment was bordering on frustration now. 

"It's... complicated. I can't--" 

"Michelle, tell me what's going on!" 

"I _can't_!" she said, louder than she had intended. "Not right away, I... I need to work out how I should tell you this first, okay?" 

Tony stared at her in a way he hadn't done since the day of the nuclear bomb when she was helping Jack against his orders. She looked back, willing him to not make her feel worse. 

"Alright," he said finally, turning back to the screen so quickly she couldn't see his eyes to tell what he was thinking. "I'll print this stuff out and you can tell me in the car." 

-- -- 

"Well?" said Tony fifteen minutes later, pulling the car door shut and looking at her expectantly. 

"Okay," said Michelle nervously, still not quite sure exactly how much to tell him. She cleared her throat, then made herself sit up straight and play confident. "It was when I worked at Division, before Carrie came, when Nina was my boss." 

She saw Tony's expression harden the way it always did at the mention of Nina's name, and told herself she was only imagining that it had grown harder than usual. 

"She took me on a mission to infiltrate some arms dealers with known connections to terrorists so we could get ahold of information they had on a large cell based just outside LA. Their leader was Jim Tanaka, the man in the photograph, who it seems was Tom Rees' brother." 

Tony furrowed his brows. "That doesn't make any sense. Why would she take you? You're barely trained for undercover work, and you can't have been working at Division for more than a couple of months by then!" 

Michelle shrugged. "Nina thought I would be able to hack into the computer system better than anyone else available. And she thought my Japanese heritage might help ingratiate us with Tanaka, who was half-Japanese. I'm guessing he and Rees don't have the same father." 

"Okay, fine," Tony said, though he clearly did not think it was 'fine'. "What happened?" 

"Everything went wrong." Michelle sighed. "One of Tanaka's men caught me copying files off the computer. They tied Nina and me up and locked us in Tanaka's office while they decided what to do with us. Nina managed to untie me and I set light to a bunch of paperwork using a cigarette butt that was still burning. The fire grew out of control -- we barely made it out the window before the whole building was alight. Tanaka and most of his men burned to death." She shook her head. "We heard them screaming but we just ran, trying to keep the information I'd managed to save safe... and then it turned out that Nina had taken a blank disc from the desk instead of the one I'd saved the files to. The whole mission was a disaster. So Nina was demoted and sent to CTU... and now Rees is out of prison and wants to get back at me." Michelle blinked, suddenly feeling tears in her eyes. "How did he even find out about me anyway?" 

Tony slowly shook his head. "I don't know. How come you never told me any of this?" 

"Technically it's still classified... Also, I don't really like to mention Nina more than I have to." Michelle laughed nervously, which Tony thankfully responded to by grinning. 

"Well, I'm glad to know why we're being hunted down and shot at," he said. 

"Your involvement in Rees' arrest must just be a coincidence," Michelle said, starting to calm down a little now despite the topic of discussion. 

"I guess so, yeah..." 

There was a moment of slightly uncomfortable silence as they both stared into space before Tony asked, "Do you want to go out for dinner?" 

"What?" Michelle asked confusedly. 

"I just realized how hungry I am for some real food, and I doubt we'd be attacked in a restaurant, so why not?" 

"Tony, it's three PM." 

"So?" There was a hopeful, puppy dog look in his eyes now. 

Michelle laughed. "Okay," she said. "You're on." 

-- -- 

Two hours later they had checked into yet another hotel, hoping it might at least have _slightly_ better security than the cheap motel they had been at before. They prettied themselves up and found a Chinese restaurant nearby, which was surprisingly busy for the time of day. 

They were shown to a table near the window, which had an unimpressive view of the gray street outside. Then there was an unusually awkward silence as they perused their menus. 

Such silences had been plaguing them since their conversation in the car earlier, and had mostly been filled only by mundane talk concerning things such as which hotel they should go to or what lipstick Michelle should wear. She had a feeling that Tony knew he had only been given a very abbreviated version of her story, and that he was trying to decide whether he wanted to press her for more details or not. 

On the whole she would prefer it if he didn't. 

"You decided what you're having?" Tony asked, looking at her over his menu. 

"Yes," Michelle said, despite the fact that she had only read the first two items on the menu before her mind had wandered. She would choose something later; right now she didn't want to prolong the silence any longer. "You?" She left the menu open on the table so that she could glance at it surreptitiously. 

"Yeah." 

_What have you chosen?_ she wanted to ask, but somehow the penetrating way he was looking at her made the words stick in her throat. 

They regarded each other while at the same trying to look like they weren't. 

"Is there anything else like this you haven't told me about?" Tony said. 

Michelle forced a smile. "Tony, there are all kinds of things I haven't told you. For instance, that fire is how I got the scar on my foot." 

"You told me that was a cooking accident!" said Tony in a familiar faux-indignant voice that made Michelle relax a little -- he was playing with her. 

She grinned. "Incidentally, I'm also secretly a master chef." 

"Now that I _don't_ believe, Mrs. I-Like-My-Pasta-Mushy-And-Burned-To-The-Pan." 

"Trust me, that's the only way to serve it. All the best chefs in Europe say so." 

"Oh yeah, such as who?" 

"Uh... Chef François... de la Bleu?" 

Neither of them could contain their laughter any longer; they both guffawed hysterically just as the waiter came to take their order. Fortunately this gave Michelle a window to quickly choose something from the menu -- Tony made his order first as he managed to get his laughter under control before she did. 

"I'm just gonna go to the bathroom before the food arrives," said Tony when the waiter had left. 

"Sure." 

Tony got up and kissed her quickly on the lips before he left, something which made Michelle feel immeasurably better. Things were okay between them. 

She watched the cars go by outside while she waited. 

When their drinks arrived before Tony she sighed mentally. He was taking a long time. 

When the food came and he still wasn't back, she began to feel frightened. 

She argued with herself, trying to convince herself that she was stupid and that going looking for him was even stupider, but she failed. Grabbing her purse, she went to the men's room to investigate. 

Pushing the door open, she saw that both the stalls were empty and there was no one at the urinals. There was no one there, period. 

Trying to stop her heart from beating too fast, Michelle tried the ladies room. Maybe he had gone in there in mistake... but no, the only person there was a large woman touching up her make-up in the mirror. 

Terrified, Michelle looked in the kitchen as well, then scanned the other tables in the restaurant, but there was no sign of him. 

Tony was gone. 


	12. Chapter Twelve

Michelle ran out of the restaurant in a blind panic, narrowly avoiding being run over by a truck as she speeded across the street in the rain that was just starting to fall. She dug her cellphone out of her bag and dialled the number of the only person who might be able to help even a little. 

Then she tripped and fell headlong onto the sidewalk. 

"Dammit, dammit, dammit..." She wiped her grazed and dripping wet hands on her pants legs and looked around frantically for her phone. Spotting it a few yards in front of her, she stood up to go and pick it up, only to almost fall back down again when she realized that one of her heels was broken. 

Swearing again, she kicked off her shoes and ran the couple of steps over the cold, increasingly soaked paving slabs to the phone. 

"Michelle, is that you? Hello?" Jack was asking when she finally held it up to her ear. 

"Yeah, it's me," she said breathlessly, hastily picking up her shoes and starting to jog back in the direction of their hotel, the only place she could think of to go. "Tony's disappeared." 

Saying the words made her situation suddenly seem all too real, and she couldn't stop the tears which began to fall onto her cheeks, which were already wet from the rain. 

Sensing her distress, Jack responded in a calm, comforting voice. "Okay, Michelle; tell me what happened and I promise I'll do everything I can." 

"We were at a restaurant -- Tony went to the bathroom and he never came back! I checked the whole building, he's not there!" 

"Alright, look -- where are you?" 

"Some small town outside LA, I don't remember what it's called... We're staying at a hotel." 

Said hotel was now visible at the end of the street, and Michelle's feet automatically increased their pace. 

"Okay, I want you to check out of the hotel and come back to CTU. You'll be safe here, and I can help you find Tony." 

"Okay." Michelle paused, and slowed to a walk to catch her breath. "Thanks, Jack." 

"No problem. See you soon." 

She put the phone away and resumed running. 

-- -- 

Michelle managed to get her tears under control long enough to make her way up to her and Tony's room without drawing too much attention to herself. However, when she went to put the key in the lock and missed, she suddenly couldn't hold it in any longer. She was sobbing loudly by the time she finally got the door open on her third attempt, and stood just inside the room, staring helplessly at the clothes strewn all over the floor and wondering where to start. 

Somehow, in all the nightmare scenarios which had played out in her head since this whole thing began, the thought that they might take Tony from her like this had never entered Michelle's mind. Oh, she had worried about them being separated, but not like this! She had thought they might decide to part ways for a while to increase their chances for survival, or that if their pursuers finally captured them they would be torn apart begging and crying and shouting 'I love you', but for them to take him without warning, without leaving any kind of trace... What would they do with him? Torture him, kill him? 

A loud sob escaped her at the thought of this, and she put her hands over her face. 

But no, she told herself, she had to pull herself together. She would never find him if she allowed herself to be a gibbering wreck like this, and she _had_ to find him. There was nothing else to do but find him, so find him she damned well would. 

Squaring her shoulders, she pulled her suitcase out from under the bed and began throwing things in it as fast as she could, not stopping to fold them neatly. There weren't really that many things to pack -- after all, they had only checked in a couple of hours ago -- it was just the mess she and Tony had left them in that was making it look like so much. 

She dropped the ruined heels in the suitcase when her clothes were all packed and dug around for some more sensible shoes -- something she should have done _before _packing, in retrospect. Shaking her head at herself in annoyance, she went to the bathroom to pack her toiletries and fetch Tony's toothbrush and razor. She avoided looking at herself in the mirror; she must look like hell, but if she looked at herself she would have the unquenchable desire to fix her make-up and cause delays she really couldn't afford. She could make herself look semi-human again when she got to CTU and knew that Jack had things under control and could spare her for a few minutes. 

Michelle went back into the bedroom, snapped her suitcase shut and turned to pack Tony's things, which thankfully only really consisted of the forest-dirt covered clothes he had been wearing earlier. She gathered them together and went to open his bag. She threw them in quickly and was about to turn away when something shiny caught her eye. Frowning, she pulled it out from underneath the clothes. 

It was a silver-framed photograph of Tony and her, taken at their engagement party. She hadn't even noticed that he had brought it with him. 

Tears began to sting the backs of her eyes again. She tried to make them go away, but they wouldn't, until she finally gave in and lay back on the bed, clutched the photograph to her chest and cried. 

-- -- 

Fifteen minutes later Michelle was striding out into the parking lot of the hotel, dry-eyed with her head held high and cursing herself repeatedly for letting her emotions overwhelm her and cost her valuable time. She walked purposefully towards the car, somehow managing to carry two bags and a suitcase and still move relatively quickly, which was more than a little important in the still pouring rain. 

The car was parked in a puddle, under a tree whose branches channeled the water directly down Michelle's back as she reached for the keys. She put the bags down and unlocked the door, intending to just throw them all on the passenger seat and drive off as quickly as possible. 

However, when Michelle went to climb into the car, she saw that the passenger seat was already occupied. 

She banged her head hard on the top of the door frame when she tried to scramble out again backwards, and was momentarily too stunned to do anything but stare at the woman sitting in her car, who simply grinned. 

"Hello, Michelle," said Nina. "Long time no see." 


	13. Chapter Thirteen

Michelle went for her gun, but Nina was faster, grabbing Michelle's wrist before her hand had time to reach the holster and producing a pistol of her own. Michelle hardly dared to breathe in the brief silence that followed while the two women stared at each other, Michelle's mind racing as she tried to find a way out of this, Nina probably already a step ahead and working out how to stop her. 

Finally Michelle sighed and, seeing no way to escape, slackened her wrist. 

Nina arched an eyebrow and pulled Michelle's arm further into the car, bringing their faces uncomfortably close. "Get in the car," she said. Michelle could feel her breath on her face, and Nina's gun was now pressing uncomfortably against her stomach. 

"My bags--" 

"Leave them." 

Reluctantly, Michelle pulled her feet into the car and slammed the door shut with her free hand, which she then put on the steering wheel. Nina made sure the other was next to it before she released her wrist. 

"Where's Tony?" said Michelle. She stared resolutely forward at the wall which marked the edge of the parking lot, not quite able to bring herself to look at the woman sitting next to her now that she had a choice. 

"On his way back to LA, just like we'll be in a few minutes. How've you been, Michelle?" 

"I was fine until you showed up." 

"Really? Your mascara's running." 

"You do know you're violating the terms of your pardon." 

"Gee, no Michelle, I didn't know. I'd better hop on a plane back to Africa right now." 

Michelle forced herself to turn her head. "Yes," she said stonily. "You should." 

Nina laughed. "You always were cute when you were mad at me." 

Michelle felt a blush spread across her face and told herself it was anger. "What do you want?" she asked. 

"The usual; money, a little entertainment along the way. You can start driving now." 

Michelle started the engine and glared at her. "Where are we going?" 

"Back to LA, I told you. I'll give you directions when we get closer." Nina stretched and leaned back in her seat, like a cat settling in for a long afternoon in the sun. She rested her hand on her lap, still pointing the gun loosely at Michelle. "Let's go." 

Reluctantly, Michelle pulled out of the parking lot. 

-- -- 

Michelle drove. 

The muscles in her fingers started to cramp as she clutched at the steering wheel, and she concentrated on the road with an almost frightening vigor, trying to shut out all the other thoughts which were starting to close in on her. Where were they going? Would Tony be there? What were they doing to him? What were they saying to him? And why did Nina, of all the people in the world, have to be here? 

Every now and then the temptation would grow too strong and she would sneak a glance at the other woman, who never seemed to even blink; every time Michelle looked, Nina was looking right back, smiling with that trademark twinkle in her eye which always seemed to imply that she knew something you didn't. 

Michelle tried to tell herself she wouldn't look again, wouldn't give Nina the satisfaction, but eventually she always seemed to give in, cursing herself as she did, and the look on Nina's face telling her she knew exactly what kind of inner dilemma Michelle was facing, and that it amused her to no end. 

The sky grew darker. The curtains and drapes in the houses they passed started to be closed more often than not. Finally, Michelle turned on the headlights. 

As if this small movement had brought her back to life, Nina shifted her position in the passenger seat and fixed Michelle with a more attentive stare. "So how does Tony compare to me? I've gotta say Michelle, I didn't think he was your type." 

Michelle felt her blood rush to her cheeks again. She felt more than saw Nina's grin widen, her lazy satisfaction somehow permeating the air and making it hard to breathe. "You never told him about us, did you?" said Nina; it was a statement more than a question. 

Michelle stayed silent -- what else could she do? An admission would only give Nina more to grin about, and she would be able to see through the lie of a 'yes' in an instant. Nina was perceptive like that, something which had always made Michelle uncomfortable, unlike Tony, who could read her like a book and make her smile by doing it. 

"I knew it." Nina shook her head gleefully. She casually raised her gun to examine it, then looked back at Michelle, grinning. "This is gonna be fun." 

The cold feeling in Michelle's gut told her otherwise. 

-- -- 

"Here we are." 

Michelle had been longing for and dreading those words at the same time. Longing for them because it would mean an end to the torture of sitting in a car with Nina holding her at gunpoint and refusing to tell her what was happening to Tony, and dreading them because whatever came next seemed likely to be much, much worse. 

"Park over there," Nina instructed. 

Michelle brought the car to a stop next to what looked like an abandoned apartment building. Some of the windows were boarded up, others had been smashed in and just left that way. What was left of the paint on the walls was peeling away, and everything was covered in grime. 

Not for the first time, Michelle wondered how long it took criminals to find these types of places, and how often they bumped into other people engaged in a shady dealings when they moved into a building. And then she wondered why she was wondering such an insignificant thing at a time like this, and the knot of panic in her stomach made itself known with renewed strength. 

"Stop daydreaming, Michelle. Get out of the car." 

Michelle obeyed, forcing herself to breathe deeply and remain calm, and was pushed with a gun in her back until they reached what looked like the door to a basement. 

"Open it," Nina instructed, and then grinned her worst grin yet. "Let's see if I can't break Tony's heart again before they kill you." 


	14. Chapter Fourteen

Nina's bony fingers cut into Michelle's arm as she was dragged down some moss-covered steps and into a room which smelled of damp and dark, in sharp contrast with the bright fluorescent lights glowing on the low, concrete ceiling. Half a dozen men were standing or pacing around the place, all of whom looked up when Nina entered, pulling Michelle behind her.

Tony was chained to a pipe which ran along the wall not ten feet away. He opened his mouth when he saw Michelle -- and then he noticed Nina.

Nina grinned. "Hello, Tony."

Tony simply gaped.

Michelle was released from Nina's grip and pushed roughly towards her husband. She tripped on one of the chains holding him prisoner -- and fell into his arms.

There was one short moment where they just stared at each other, unable to speak because of the sheer multitude of questions hanging between them... and then Tony kissed her, and the inexplicable apprehension she had been feeling evaporated as she let herself sink into him.

"Are you okay?" she whispered, pulling away just enough to look into his eyes.

"Yeah." He nodded. "Are you?"

"I'm fine," Michelle assured him. She reached out to touch his face -- only to have Nina grab her wrist and pull her away, back up to a standing position and out of reach of Tony's suddenly empty grasp.

"How very touching... but I think you're more fun over here with me." Nina grinned at Michelle and turned. "How've you been, Tony?"

Tony scowled. "I was fine til you showed up."

Nina laughed. "Funny, that's exactly what Michelle said. It's probably why you're so perfect for each other, you're so much alike. You're both computer geeks, you both work for CTU... and you were both pretty good in bed, I have to admit."

Michelle gritted her teeth and forced herself to breathe deep to keep from panicking. She looked at Tony, trying to figure out how he was going to react, watching the wheels turning strenuously in his head as he tried to understand.

"What?" he said finally; understanding obstinately refusing to dawn.

"Oh, your wife and I are old acquaintances. Didn't she tell you?"

"Michelle…" Tony turned to her, silently begging her to tell him it wasn't true.

Michelle just stood there open-mouthed and slowly shook her head, unable to speak. _I can explain_, she wanted to say, but the only explanation Tony wanted to hear was _it's a lie_, and she couldn't tell him that.

"Oh yeah." Nina beckoned to one of the men standing nearby, who came over and pulled both Michelle's arms behind her back, leaving Nina free to wander leisurely back to Tony. She hunched down next to him. "There was a time when our darling Michelle here was _infatuated_ with me. Hanging on my every word, following me around like a little lovesick puppy... She actually cried when I told her I was being transferred to CTU. Didn't you, Michelle?" she asked, looking back over her shoulder.

"Screw you, Nina." There were tears in Michelle's eyes now at the expression on Tony's face, but she was damned if she was going to let them fall.

Nina grinned. "Michelle, honey, you already did." She raised her eyebrows. "Or did you forget?" Nina turned to Tony. "Maybe that's why she never got around to telling you. But somehow I don't think that's it." She took his chin in her hand. "Aren't you going to say anything, sweetie?"

Tony spat in her face.

Nina flinched, but only took a moment to recover and calmly wiped the saliva from her cheek. Then she wiped her hand off on Tony's pants, reaching way too far up his leg for Michelle's taste, and she was sure Tony's too.

"Poor baby," Nina cooed, patting his cheek with her other hand. "You're not enjoying this at all, are you? And the thought of two women touching each other used to get you so excited." She shook her head. "Do you want to know how it started?" She glanced back at Michelle, grinning wickedly. "It's a fascinating story, full of blood and tears and alcohol to drown our sorrows..."

Michelle's hands shook behind her back. She wished she could bury her face in them.

"I get the feeling you're going to tell me whether I want to hear it or not," Tony growled at Nina.

She was about to reply when Ton Rees stepped into the room.

-- --

Michelle felt like she was looking at a ghost.

Oh, the man in front of her was undoubtedly not the one she remembered working against so long ago, but the small resemblances in different parts of his face combined to make quite an eerie picture.

This wasn't helped by the fact that he was staring at her with a frighteningly cold hatred gleaming in his eyes.

"So," he said, not taking his eyes off of Michelle, "this is her?"

"Yes," Nina said, coming up beside him. "This is her."

Rees nodded slowly and stepped carefully around Michelle to examine her from the side.

It was a strange feeling, having someone talk about her as if she wasn't there and yet scrutinize her so thoroughly. It was also more than a little unpleasant.

"I thought she'd be blonde," Rees said finally, turning away dismissively. He glanced at Tony. "That's the husband?"

"Yes," Nina confirmed.

"Hmm." Rees looked back at the man holding Michelle's arms. "Put her over there with him and fetch me a chair. I've got a story to tell them."

The man obeyed, and Michelle found herself being thrown down next to Tony. She looked at him uncertainly. He wouldn't meet her eyes.

Rees sat down on the chair which had hastily been provided and looked down on them. A hungry gleam appeared in his eyes as he cleared his throat. "Well," he said, "I suppose you know why I'm going to kill you?"

Michelle swallowed. "You think it's my fault that your brother died."

"I don't_ think_, Ms. Dessler, I _know_. And you know it too, or you wouldn't be looking so guilty."

Michelle blushed. She knew that Rees must know why she was looking guilty, and yet she couldn't admit to the real reason out loud. Not with Tony there.

Tony who was sitting next to her as if he was completely unaware of her presence.

"Do you know how my brother died?" Rees asked, in much the same tone as Michelle would use to ask for a progress report.

"He burned to death." She didn't know what else to say to him but the truth.

"No, actually, he didn't." Rees leaned forward in his heat, so close Michelle could smell his breath. "Oh, he caught on fire. Did you know that burning is the worst kind of pain a person can feel? So to escape that pain, he jumped into the ocean by the house, and he drowned." Rees snapped his fingers, and one of his men pulled Michelle up again. Rees got to his feet and stepped forward so he was toe to toe with her. "You wanna know what happens now?"

Michelle forced her voice not to shake. "What happens now?"

Rees grinned. "We recreate my brother's death, just for you. First," he said, raising his hand with a flourish and stepping away from her, "Someone you love will die a horrible, painful death -- that's the part where you feel what I've felt, and what that gasoline in the corner is for," -- he gestured at a canister which Michelle hadn't noticed until now -- "And then, we drop you in the ocean and you drown, which is the part where you're my brother. What do you think?" He spun round to face her again.

"I think you should let us go before you get yourself put back in jail," Michelle said coldly, trying to suppress the horror she felt at what he had threatened to do to Tony.

"Well, that's too bad. Nina, take her outside. You two deal with him," he said to the two men closest to him, "The rest of you, come with us."

Michelle felt Nina's hand clamp around her arm again, and looked up into her nastily smiling face. "Say goodbye to your husband, Michelle." Nina began dragging her towards the door. "Bye, Tony!"

"Tony!" Michelle struggled to escape, but one of Rees' men stepped in to help Nina restrain her.

"Michelle!" she heard Tony cry, and she was pulled out of sight.

-- --

Michelle couldn't stop the tears falling now. Nina was sitting across from her in the truck they had bundled her into, looking like she was having the time of her life. Michelle wanted to kill her. If it weren't for the fact that she was surrounded by enemies and her hands were tied together she probably would have.

"Not far to go, Michelle, don't worry. I wonder if he's dead yet."

Michelle tried to kick her, but her foot barely brushed the leg of Nina's pants. Nina laughed, while Michelle shed tears of frustration.

"Why are you doing this to me and not to her?" Michelle demanded of Rees, who was sat at the far end of the truck. "Your brother's death was just as much her fault as it was mine."

"You lit the fire, Michelle," Nina said, grinning.

"I wasn't talking to you."

"She's right, though," Rees replied, reclining lazily in his seat. "Also, I must admit to having a certain... affection for her."

"She seduced you, didn't she," Michelle said, disgusted. "You found her first, and she seduced you and made you think it was all my fault, and then she promised to help you kill me."

"Ah, Michelle, you know me so well..." Nina was still smiling.

"Yeah, well, I really wish I didn't."

"Beggars can't be choosers, Michelle."

"I'm not going to beg you for anything."

"Not like you used to, then?"

"Go to hell."

The truck stopped. Nina glanced out of the window, then looked back at Michelle. "I think it's your turn first."

The doors were pushed open and Michelle found herself being dragged to her feet and out onto a small, grassy precipice. The edge was only a few yards away, and she could her the water underneath them.

Rees' men held her while he tied a weight to her ankles, and then Nina stepped forward.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye," she said.

Michelle glared at her. "Just do it."

Nina stepped closer, and reached out to tuck one of Michelle's curls behind her ear.

Michelle did her best not to flinch.

"I'll try to miss you, but I'm sure I'll find someone else to amuse me soon enough." Nina stepped back. "She's all yours, Tom."

Tom Rees stepped forward. "Any last words, Ms. Dessler?"

Michelle glared. "It's _Mrs._"

Tom Rees nodded, and pushed her into the sea.

She was vaguely aware of a splash, and then she was sinking.

She tried to reach down with her bound hands and untie the rope attached around her ankles, but she couldn't twist to find and angle which would allow her good enough access. She looked around in vain for something to pull herself up on, but already she could barely control her movements for lack of air. She tried not to breathe in, and tried to remember how long it took you to die once your lungs were filled with water.

She tried to pull her legs apart, hoping to loosen her bonds enough to slip her feet from the rope, but she knew it was pointless, her head was spinning and her chest felt like it was going to explode...

She gasped, and water flowed through her mouth and down into her lungs.

Michelle closed her eyes, desperately searching her mind for something which might help her, but there was nothing, and she could already feel unconsciousness moving in on her like a snake through the water...

At least she would be with Tony.

Michelle gave up.

And then a hand grabbed her wrist.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

Michelle felt the weight tied around her ankle fall away and immediately kicked her legs, but the only movement she could manage by now was feeble at best. Fortunately whoever it was who had cut the weight away -- all she could make out of them in the darkness was a vague silhouette -- grabbed hold of her and pulled her towards the surface. 

She gasped and choked and struggled for breath as they broke back into the cool night air, and couldn't concentrate hard enough to recognize her rescuer until he had dragged her ashore and cupped her face in his hands, asking if she was alright. 

"Tony!" she cried, staring into the face she had been convinced she would never see again, and burst into tears. 

"Michelle," Tony whispered in relief, and planted a kiss on her lips before pulling her closer. "Oh, thank God." 

Michelle clung to his wet, clammy and yet somehow comfortingly warm form as if her life still depended on it, sobbing into his chest. "I'm sorry, Tony, I'm so sorry..." 

"Shh, don't be sorry. It's okay." 

"It's not! They could've killed you because of me!" 

"Yeah, well, they didn't." He began to rub her back. "They had trouble opening the gasoline, and I managed to grab it from them and knock them out. Then I went through their pockets to find the keys to unchain myself, and then I came after you." 

"How?" 

She could hear the grin in his voice. "I hid on the roof of the truck." 

"And they didn't see you?" she asked, astonished. 

"Nope. The only problem was I had to wait for them to go before I could come out of hiding and jump in after you." 

Michelle sighed. "Thank you." 

Tony kissed her dripping hair. "No problem." 

Michelle closed her eyes and leaned into him still further, hugging him as tightly as she could. They sat there by the water for a long while, huddled together in their sodden clothes, until the sun began to rise behind them. 

A car pulled up. 

Tony and Michelle's heads snapped around and they clung to each other tightly, each trying to protect the other. The front door opened, and Jack stepped out. The door on the other side slammed a moment later, and Lieutenant Martin stepped into view. 

Michelle felt Tony breathe a sigh of relief. 

Jack and the lieutenant jogged over, glancing around themselves quickly before kneeling down. "Hey", said Jack, shrugging out of his jacket. "Are you alright?" He held the jacket out to Michelle, who accepted it gratefully, disentangling herself from Tony for the briefest possible time while she pulled it on. 

"Yeah." Tony nodded. "We're okay." 

"What happened?" asked Lieutenant Martin, taking in their waterlogged appearances. 

"They tried to drown her," Tony replied. He found Michelle's hand and squeezed it. 

"We should get you to a hospital," the lieutenant said. "Swimming with your clothes on in the middle of the night doesn't exactly promote good health." She offered Michelle her hand. 

Jack pulled Tony up and they began to walk slowly back towards the car. 

"What happened to the people who did this?" Jack asked. 

"They got away," Michelle told him. "But they may not know yet that we did." 

Jack nodded. "Alright, I'll talk to CTU, see if we can track them down." 

He held the door open for her and she and Tony climbed into the back of the car. 

-- -- 

Michelle leaned against Tony in the back seat, trying to make contact with as much of his body as possible. The change in position and location had made her unpleasantly aware of just how cold and wet she was, and although Tony was just as soaked as she he seemed a lot warmer. She looked up at him, but he was staring straight ahead. She was afraid that everything was beginning to sink in, and wondered what that would mean for them. 

"How did you find us, Jack?" she asked, more to distract herself than anything else. 

"Satellite images," Jack said, glancing at her in the rearview mirror. "I tried calling you a couple of times and you didn't pick up, and then a security guard found your bags and answered, so I knew where you'd been and managed to find images of you on the road. I called the lieutenant here and we followed." 

"But that would only have led you to where they were holding us." 

"We went there first," Lieutenant Martin told her from the passenger seat. "But when we got there it was obvious that you were gone. Only one vehicle had left the building after you arrived, so we followed it and it led us here." 

"Here where the mysterious figure hanging onto the luggage rack suddenly disappeared," Jack said, grinning. 

Tony laughed at this; the first sound he had made in a while. 

Michelle smiled at him, but he still wouldn't look back at her. Her heart sank. 

-- -- 

Tony and Michelle were checked over at the nearest hospital and asked to stay the night for observation, though they were assured that this was only a formality and that the worst either of them was likely to get was a cold. 

Michelle lay in her blissfully warm and dry hospital bed, probably more exhausted than she'd ever been, and yet no matter how hard she tried she couldn't get to sleep. She tossed and turned despite the dimmed lights and the guards posted outside to protect her. 

Eventually, she got up. 

The guards insisted on escorting her down the corridor despite the fact that their counterparts outside Tony's room were clearly visible from where they stood. They clustered around her as she pushed open Tony's door, and she had no doubt that they would all be straining their ears to catch whatever snippets of conversation they could and ease the terrible boredom they must feel on jobs like these. 

Tony turned his head as the door fell shut behind her. 

"Hey," she said softly. She hesitated for a split second before sitting on the bed. 

"Hey." He smiled weakly. 

She returned the smile, but only for a moment. "Tony... we need to talk." 

Tony sighed and shook his head. "Yeah," he admitted. "I guess we do." 

There was a long silence, because neither of them knew where to start. 

"Nina--" Michelle started eventually. 

"Did you really--" Tony said simultaneously. 

Michelle sighed and looked down. "Yes," she confessed. 

Tony nodded. 

"It wasn't as bad as she made it sound, but... I did sleep with her. This guy I'd been dating, he was killed in action, and I was pretty upset, obviously... and then Nina showed up at my apartment. We drank a _lot_, and she made me feel... alive again. Less lonely. So after that I guess I kind of clung to her, just because I had nobody else to cling to. When she decided to take me on that mission with her I was so happy, I felt like I actually meant something... and then of course it all fell apart. And... that's it. It ended, I learned that I could put myself back together on my own if I really wanted to, I picked myself back up... that whole mess happened with Carrie, but I dealt with it... and then I met you." 

It took Tony a while to speak, and when he did his voice was soft. "How come you never told me any of this?" 

She shook her head. "Nina hurt you so much, whenever her name would come up you'd just freeze... and well... she's a woman. I was afraid of what you would think, that you might doubt even for a second that I love you with all my heart..." 

"Michelle..." Tony shifted his position in the bed and took her hand in his. "I could never doubt that." He smiled. "You saved my life the other day!" 

Michelle sighed in a relief. "Yeah, but we're even now," she said, smiling in return. 

Tony pulled her closer. "I love you," he said sincerely. 

"Oh, I love you so much..." Michelle felt on the verge of tears again. 

They kissed. 

"So I'm forgiven?" Michelle asked. She had to be sure. 

Tony nodded affectionately, amused by her uncertainty. "Yeah, you're forgiven." He held up a finger. "On one condition." 

"What's that?" she said, slightly nervous despite herself. 

"That you climb into bed with me this instant. I can't sleep without you." 

Michelle laughed. "I'm not sure the nurses will be too happy about that." 

"Well, that's their problem. Come on." 

Michelle happily obliged, and snuggled down next to her husband. 


	16. Chapter Sixteen

Their car pulled up just as Tony and Michelle were exiting the hospital.

"Ah," said Lieutenant Martin, opening the door and getting out of the driver's seat. "I'm glad I caught you; I came to return your car. I'm afraid we haven't been able to find Nina Myers, Tom Rees or any of his men apart from the two you left unconscious in the basement," she said apologetically, "But we did find your firearms. I left them in the trunk."

Tony nodded. "Thank you."

"Not a problem. My officers are already stationed around your house in case they decide to attack again, but frankly there's no reason to believe that they don't still think you're dead. There wasn't any evidence that they tried to return to the apartment block or make contact with the two men left behind after they'd gone. They're likely hiding out somewhere in South America by now. Usually that wouldn't be a good thing, but I think with luck we'll never hear from them again."

"Let's hope we're lucky, then," Michelle said, though she had to admit it was still difficult to be so jovial.

The lieutenant returned the smile and stepped away from the car. "She's all yours."

They exchanged goodbyes, and Tony and Michelle got in and drove away.

"So, said Tony. "You looking forward to going home?"

Michelle leaned back in her seat and smiled. "You have to ask?"

"Our own kitchen..."

"Own bath."

"Own bed."

Closing her eyes, Michelle sighed contentedly. "Yeah, I'll be glad to be home."

-- --

They pulled up in their driveway.

"Well," said Tony, "here we are."

Michelle could hear in his voice the same illogical trepidation she herself was now feeling. Her recent memories of their home consisted mainly of fear, panic and gunshots, and somehow she wasn't quite ready to just expect everything to be normal again.

Tony got out of the car somewhat more warily than he usually would, and she followed in much the same fashion.

They got halfway to the house before the shooting started.

Tony dove for the relative safety of the porch while Michelle ran back to crouch behind the car, all the while hoping that she was just hallucinating because of the stress of the past few days, but the sound of bullets hitting the car pretty much confirmed that what was happening was all too real.

"You can't hide, Michelle!" came Rees' voice from somewhere far to close by for Michelle's liking. She didn't reply, instead holding her breath and hoping he hadn't seen where she'd gone.

"Did you honestly think you could get away?" He laughed, a sound even more unpleasant than the gunfire. "There's no escape from justice, Michelle!"

"Nina seemed to think otherwise!" she heard Tony call. She hoped he knew what he was doing, that he had found some kind of weapon or escape route...

"Nina's a coward!" Rees barked. "Imagine running just because something didn't go quite according to plan!"

"I'd call having us _not die_ without your even noticing a pretty major something!"

Michelle heard something click by her head, and it took her a moment to realize that Tony had unlocked the trunk remotely. He had a plan.

She risked a glance over the top of the car, and saw Rees slowly creeping up on Tony's hiding place on the porch. She didn't have much time if she didn't want him to succeed in his mission to kill them this time.

As quietly and discreetly as possible, Michelle opened the trunk and felt around for her gun. This was more difficult than she had anticipated as the trunk was still littered with bags of food and clothes. She slowly inched along the side of the car until she was convinced that Rees was going to turn, see her and shoot her... and then at last her hand brushed against something metal.

The gun was unloaded, but she found the clip a lot more easily. Clicking it into place and the safety off, she stood up, forcing herself not to shake.

"Rees!" she cried, only to see that he had gotten closer to Tony than she had anticipated. At the sound of her voice, he grabbed Tony and held the gun to his head.

"Now you drop that weapon," Rees snarled, "or I--"

Michelle shot him square in the head. He was dead instantly.

Tony blinked. "Woah..." he said slowly.

Michelle rushed over. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah..." he looked over his shoulder. "They're not, though..."

Michelle followed his gaze to see three police officers lying dead at the far end of the porch. "Oh, no..."

"Hey," Tony said. He seemed slowly to be regaining coherent thought. "C'mere."

He tugged gently on her wrist, and she sat down next to him.

"Thank you," he said. "I guess this means I owe you one again."

Michelle managed a smile.

Tony smiled too, then took on a more serious expression. "I think it might really be over now. He's dead," he nodded at Rees, "And it sounds like Nina's disappeared again."

"I really, really hope you're right."

"Aw, honey..." he put an arm around her shoulder. "You know I'm always right."

"I think you're confusing yourself with Jack."

"That may be." Tony used his free hand to scratch his neck. "We should probably give him a call."

"And Lieutenant Martin."

"Yeah."

"...Yeah."

They sat there a moment longer before going to work.

-- --

Many hours later, they finally lay down, in their own house, in their own bed, and more unafraid than they'd been in what seemed like forever.

Michelle snuggled up to Tony, and they lay there in a warm silence for a long while.

Eventually, Michelle shifted her position to see him better. "I wish Nina hadn't gotten away."

"Me too." Tony nodded. "But maybe it's just as well... I think I might strangle her with my bare hands if I ever see her again."

"That's less than she deserves."

"I know."

Tony began to trace his fingers absentmindedly up and down her arm. "Honey..."

"Yeah?"

"I was just wondering... You haven't slept with anybody else I know, right?"

Michelle furrowed her brow. "Well, there was that time when Chappelle..."

Tony stared.

Michelle laughed. "I'm kidding."

Tony sighed with relief. "Don't ever put that image in my brain again."

She smiled. "Yeah, I didn't really think that one through... I'm getting very disturbing naked pictures flashing through my mind now... But seriously." Michelle moved again so she could look into his eyes. "No, I haven't slept with anybody else you know. Well, that I know of."

"Good. That's really... kinda a relief to hear."

"Tony, I'm really sorry I never told you about Nina."

"I know." Tony nodded.

The silence returned, but it was a comfortable silence, not like the ones which had hung so oppressively between them over the past couple of days.

Eventually, Michelle stretched to lean over Tony and plant a kiss on his lips. "I love you," she told him.

A grin spread slowly over Tony's face. "Good," he said, and flipped her onto her back.

**THE END**


End file.
